Title Header University of Manchester Students’ Union Planning Your Campaign 00
Title Campaign Planning Campaigning is an exciting and rewarding experience, whether you want to change something within the university, the community or the government. Students have a long history of campaigning, especially here at Manchester. Campaigning takes a lot of organisation and time, so this presentation has been created for you to plan your campaign effectively as well as giving you some useful information, hints and tips. Don’t forget, the Union can support you through each step, whether it’s with funding or organisation. Key Contacts Campaigns and Citizenship Officer Campaigns Coordinator Conor McGurran Freya Potter 0161 2758439 0161 2758643 conor.mcgurran@manchester.ac.uk freya.potter@manchester.ac.uk 00
Title What is a campaign? A campaign is not simply about raising awareness. It is about making a tangible change to a law, policy, behaviour or practice. A campaign is about identifying the source of a problem , and who has the power to change it. Then mobilising people and organising actions to influence or force the change you want to see. You need a measurable aim, otherwise how will you know when your campaign is a success? What issue do you want to run a campaign on? 00
Title Gathering Evidence and Building Arguments Once you’ve identified your issue you need to do your research. Accurate information will not only help you make a good plan and give you ideas for action, but also help you build a convincing argument to counter opposition and convince potential supporters and allies. How will you gather evidence? • Survey students (Survey Monkey), GOATing (Go Out And Talk), • Focus Groups • Find credible research by other charities/unions/institutions/individuals • Gather examples • Other universities 00 • Ask the Union
Title SMARTT An easy way to plan your campaign is to think of your SMARTT objectives. SMARTT is a great way to split your campaign into more manageable chunks. • S pecific – Have a well defined, tangible and clear goal. • M easurable – How will you measure your success? • A chievable – Are your campaign objectives achievable and realistic? Don’t aim too high (at first). • R esources – What resources do you have access to? Think about how much time your team can commit, what staff support you have, how much funding you’ll need and can apply for. • T argets – Who has the Power? And who will help you influence them? • T imely – Work out a realistic time scale, with targets for 3 months, 6 months, 1 year etc. 00
Title Specific - Define Your Aim Identifying a problem or issue is easy eg. Lots of students suffer from mental health problems. But simply raising awareness about a problem isn’t enough, you have to decide on a specific, proactive aim. It should be tangible, realistic and achievable, eg. Personal Tutors need training to help students with Mental Health Problems. You should be able to sum up your aim – what you want to change-in one sentence. 00
Title Measurable – When is it a success? When will you consider that your campaign is complete? This isn’t when the University, Council, or Government has made an agreement. It is when the policy, law or practice has changed or when the change is visible. 00
Achievable – How realistic is you aim? Title Are the campaign objectives achievable for everyone involved? Start small and build up momentum. If your issue is a global/international problem, can you focus on local roots and causes? Think about what barriers you will face and how you will overcome them. 00
Title Resources – What will assist you? • Time • Money/Funding • Space • Stakeholders • Staff Time • Volunteers The Campaigns Officer and Campaigns Coordinator can help you develop your campaign and make a funding bid, arrange a meeting in the Voice Office: freya.potter@manchester.ac.uk The Student Voice Office also has lots of materials and resources for you to use to make banners, badges, and placards etc. www.manchesterstudentsunion.com/funds 00
Title Targets - Who has the power? Who is your target? You need to target your campaign at the person, or people, with the power to make the change, eg. MPs, Council, University Management Who will help you? Who shares your motivations? Who has influence over your target? Constituents, voters, customers, shareholders? If you’re unsure of who your target is, the Union can help you find out. 00
Title Timely – When will it happen? Timescales will depend on how achievable your campaign is. What barriers may delay results? Is there a time limit? Create a time line to give yourself regular goals and points to reflect and evaluate. Set targets for 3 months, 6 months, 1 year etc. Regularly review your plans to avoid losing sight of the long term goals. 00
Title Tactics and Methods Now think about which tactics you’re going to use to achieve your aims. Not every campaign will need a protest or a demo. Try to arrange an informal meeting with your target to gauge their response before you become more confrontational. You may have to move on to different tactics such as: Writing letters and emails Starting a petition Staging a protest/march demo Stunts/creative campaigning Public meetings Generating press coverage - create photo opportunities! 00
Title SWOT Analysis Strengths & Weaknesses Think about what advantages you already have and what could be a weakness/difficulty. Opportunities & Threats Can you think of any thing or group of people who might pose a threat to the campaign? Does the campaign provide an opportunity to build links with other organisations or people ? 00
Title What Else? Accessibility You need to rally as many supporters as possible, so think about how accessible your campaign is to new people. Consider where and when you hold meetings, is it in a welcoming and accessible place? Is your campaign overly negative? Be creative and think about how you can have positive events, actions and messages which will engage supporters. Publicity You need to get your message out there and promote your campaign, social media will help you organise and publicise. Try to generate press coverage too, contact student-run media and don’t be shy about sending Press Releases to local and national media outlets. 00
Title What Else? Burnout Looking after yourself and the rest of your team is vital to the success of your campaign. Try to plan carefully to avoid burning out. Remember to share responsibilities and delegate jobs. If you or your group are struggling, then you may need to re- evaluate your plans. Prioritise your wellbeing and your campaign will have more success in the long run. 00
Title Evaluate Evaluating your campaign is key to making sure you’re successful and effective. Regularly stop and ask yourselves how you’re closer to your aim, revise your goal and change tactics if you need to. 00
Title What We Can Do For You • Campaign fund: www.manchesterstudentsunion.com/funds • Skills for Change workshops: www.manchesterstudentsunion.com/skills • Campaign resources available in the Voice Office • Staff support: www.manchesterstudentsunion.com/campaigns Campaigns Officer – conor.mcgurran@manchester.ac.uk Campaigns Coordinator – freya.potter@manchester.ac.uk Academic and Political Coordinator – mary.smith-2@manchester.ac.uk 00
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